Published 11:54 am, Wednesday, October 2, 2013

The Harris County District Clerk’s Office is proceeding apace to make more of the county’s courts all-electronic as a way to save money on paper and printing, slash storage costs and reduce the time spent waiting in line to file documents.

The county and the District Clerk’s Office have already turned the county’s 24 state district civil courts into electronic courts - ones that transmit and store documents electronically. Eight of these courts require electronic filing of documents.

The District Clerk’s Office has shifted its focus from the civil courts to its 10 state district family courts. The office is in the process of transforming all of the family courts into all-electronic operations by Jan. 1. This massive undertaking requires an expansive increase in the county’s bandwidth, changes in software programs and new computers for courtrooms.

Going paperless means real cost savings. The District Clerk’s Office estimates that electronic filings would save it - and taxpayers - about $1.1 million next year. Over a decade, such savings would amount to $11 million - a third of my office’s current annual budget!

No date has been set for making the county’s 22 state district criminal courts and 15 county criminal-at-law courts all-electronic. But they will be up next.

Last December, the state Supreme Court mandated that the civil and family courts in the state’s most populous counties accept only electronic filings as of Jan. 1, 2014. The court set a staggered schedule for the remaining counties to begin accepting only electronic files.

The state contracted with Plano-based Tyler Technologies to create an electronic filing system called TexFile, through which all civil and family documents must be filed.

Harris County is working hard to meet this mandate. The District Clerk’s Office is a key player in these efforts, but other departments, such as Harris County’s information technology division and the county Office of Court Administration, also must modernize if the mandate is to be met. The Office of Court Administration will supply judges with computers and equipment needed for viewing electronic court documents.

The county information technology division is buying additional bandwidth and setting aside a new bandwidth pipe solely for transmission of court records. That pipe will transmit at the rate of 500 megabytes per second. It also has the capacity to greatly expand if more information than that begins to flow.

The mandate requires that counties do no more than accept electronic court documents as of Jan. 1. Harris County looks to be in good shape to meet this mandate.

Some counties plan on meeting only the letter of the mandate - they will receive files electronically and then print them out and place the documents in paper files.

This doesn’t make sense to me. A clerk’s office that prints out and stores electronically filed documents gives up much of the cost savings realized through electronic operations. Why pay for paper, printers and storage when there’s no need to do so?

So Commissioners Court, the county Justice Executive Board and the District Clerk’s Office decided to go beyond the mandate and set up a system that looks to achieve efficiency and cost savings. All documents in the county’s civil and family courts will be stored electronically, and there will be no more paper in these courts. The aim is to have a government that makes sense - and saves cents.

People who represent themselves in court may still file paper documents. But my office will scan them and turn them into electronic filings.

Southwest Solutions Group, hired by the county, will scan all active family court files in the coming weeks. The scanned documents then will be sent to a team of District Clerk’s employees, which will review them and check to see if they have been categorized according to type of case and pleading.

Harris County and the District Clerk’s Office are hard at work building their end of the transmission pipeline. But other players are involved. TexFile has to complete its end of the pipeline by Jan. 1 if the new system is to work. TexFile will rely on much less bandwidth to transmit documents statewide than the 500 megabytes-per-second pipeline that the District Clerk’s Office will use - and need - solely for its operations. TexFile has told the District Clerk’s Office that its system can expand easily.

In early November, the District Clerk’s Office will begin a transitional shift to TexFile in preparation for the full shift Jan. 1.

As with many major undertakings by government, collaboration is key, and success is predicated on the various players fulfilling their roles.

Chris Daniel is the Harris County District Clerk, whose responsibilities include running jury service and overseeing a staff of more than 400 that helps operate the courts and stores court records.